Scarlet Winter
General Information Scarlet Winter, born 965.M41, is an Inquisitor Acolyte of the Imperial Inquisition's Ordo Malleus. She and her mentor, Inquisitor Gaelen Reed , are presently assigned as Inquisition liaisons to the Stonehides Chapter Space Marines, located in the Damocles Gulf. Winter's surname is oddly fitting, as she is affected with albinism, lacking pigmentation in her skin, hair and eyes. This may have some connection to her nature as a Psyker, but no definitive causality has been established. She is highly photosensitive as a result. This naturally poses a problem, given the Stonehides' home planet of Arghor is a scorchingly bright desert world. Winter was born to a comfortably situated family of minor up-hive nobles. As such, her family was able to afford minor corrective surgeries, allowing Scarlet to venture outside without needing specially tinted goggles. As a result of her Imperial Guard basic training, she can handle most weapons available to the Guard with some degree of competency, though she favours the bolt pistol. History In 982.M41, at the age of 17, Winter was reported to the Inquisition as a possible Psyker, having displayed what appeared to be minor precognitive abilities. A relatively young Inquisitor, Gaelen Reed, was dispatched to collect her. Having a small degree of psychic ability himself, Reed took an interest in assessing the nature of Winter's psychic powers. Upon arrival at Terra, Reed vouched for her appointment as a Sanctioned Psyker, citing that she had displayed faith in the Emperor, and by extension the Inquisition's decision to collect her, despite being removed from her family onto one of the infamous "Black Ships." After a lengthy vetting process during the course of nearly two years, it was determined by the Inquisition's review that Winter did in fact possess the willpower to control her psychic abilities, and as such could be a valuable addition to the Inquisition. Winter very quickly learned that noble blood and up-hive schooling would win her no favours in the Inquisitorial hierarchy, and as a means of grounding her perspective she elected to undergo Imperial Guard basic training. As her primary occupation in her previous life had been "being present in her family's manor, and looking rather dainty" Winter found the physicality of Guard training to be a welcome change of pace. Since completing basic training, she has continued to maintain military-level fitness and fighting technique, often spending her time in warp transit sparring and combat drilling with any Guardsmen or ship security personnel present. As a Student Following official recognition of her Sanctioned status, she elected to act as an Acolyte to the then-solitary Inquisitor Reed. She is Inquisitor Reed's first and only follower, and her reserved demeanor helps to balance out his occasionally eccentric and radical views. Most of Reed's direct teachings during the subsequent years have been focused on helping Winter hone her psychic abilities. In all other areas, he simply prefers to lead by example. As a Psyker Winter's psychic abilities are fairly understated, nothing so extreme as conjuring fire or lightning. Rather, she seems to have a sort of precognitive sixth-sense for danger, making her a valuable indicator to anyone in her vicinity. In battle, her powers may manifest as dropping into cover moments before an enemy reveals themselves, giving those around her precious instants to ready themselves for danger. As a Warrior In combat, Winter's chosen armament consists of a Bolt Pistol (Astartes MkIII, compact), and a heavy Imperial Guard combat knife. She is a crack-shot with the Bolt Pistol, her psychic abilities giving her a preternatural ability to lead moving targets. Initially, her skills with the combat knife consisted simply of standard Imperial Guard techniques. As knife-fighting is a specialization of the Stonehides Chapter Space Marines, Winter's time liaisoned to them has drastically improved her abilities with the combat knife. Trivia Scarlet's peers have, on occasion, jokingly referred to her as "Sister of Battle" because of her white hair and skill in martial disciplines. Gallery 40k scarlet winter HiQ3 copy lowres.png|The original reference image of Scarlet Winter. scarlet winter study final small.png|A previous iteration which established the direction of the character's design. sketchy scarlet small.jpg|A concept sketch of Scarlet Winter. This will likely be used as a reference when the artist sculpts a figurine of her. Category:Characters Category:Inquisition